ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Alex Wyper and Niall McCabe teamed up on three goals as the 24th-ranked Young Harris College men's soccer team defeated Flagler College 3-1 in a Peach Belt Conference match Saturday (Sept. 28) evening at Saints Field.

The Mountain Lions have won their last four matches to improve to 6-1-0 overall and to 3-0-0 in the Peach Belt while the Saints fell to 2-3-2 and 0-2-1. Young Harris returns home Wednesday (Oct. 2) when they host Carson-Newman University at 4:30 p.m.

The Saints took a 1-0 lead at the 10:06 mark when Triston Hall dribbled into the box and through an YHC defender and knock it in the net with his right foot. It was his second goal of the season. The Mountain Lions battled back nearly seven minutes later to tie the match at 1 when McCabe, who leads the conference with six assists, passed it to Wyper, who blasted a shot into the top left corner of the goal from 22 yards out.

It would stay that way until 10 minutes into the second half when the tandem struck again for the Mountain Lions. McCabe, a senior from Dublin, Ireland, crossed it to Wyper at the far post and Wyper tapped it to give Young Harris a 2-1 lead. The freshman from Edinburgh, Scotland, got his first career hat trick with 44 seconds remaining in the match. On a 3-on-1 counterattack, McCabe passed it to Wyper, who put the ball just inside the left post for the insurance goal.

"We showed great character to come from behind against a well-organized team," said Young Harris head coach Mark McKeever. "In the second half, we defended very well as a unit and it created opportunities for our creative players to do what they do best. The standard of Alex Wyper's hat trick was of the highest level."

Young Harris held a 16-11 advantage on shots as well a 13-4 margin on corner kicks. Young Harris' Pedro Ozi and Flagler's Camp Bissell each had four saves in net.